1 in 5 teachers hit by a pupil

[MrsMurphyIWish]

AIBU to think it’s a low as that?

The worst encounter I have had is being pushed down the stairs when I was heavily pregnant with DS - luckily I grabbed the railing, however I was still expected to teach the boy. (He didn’t even get a detention). I teach in a different school now but swearing, general contempt (from some pupils), threats are still common. No physical violence though.

I put up with it as I’m in the money trap and waiting for mortgage to be paid off so I can escape but in’s worry if this doesn’t change we’ll have an endless cycle of ECTs who leave after a few years, continued missed recruitment targets, and behaviour will get even worse!

www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-68674568 - * (post edited at OP's request to add link to BBC news site)

Most kids I have taught are decent. Laziness however is endemic now as is talking and not valuing education- pupils and many parents. The level.of additional needs pupils is soaring, whilst provision to help is dwindling. Powder keg. I agree re calling police. Parents should be told all children and staff deserve to be in a safe environment and that any attacks will be reported.

In the last 3 years in nursery, at least 2 staff get hurt daily. My legs have horrific sore bruises this week from being kicked then laughed at by a 4 year old. The violence is coming from younger and younger children.

I wonder whether it is worse in primary schools, in a way, because the children are with the same adult all the time and therefore see them as their safe space? That could especially be the case if they have an unstable home life, which many of these children will have, and so they're lashing out with the only safe adult in their lives.

I've been working in secondary schools, many very rough ones, for close to 20 years. Verbal assault is commonplace, so is being pushed out of the way if a kid is determined to go somewhere and you're in their way. I've been threatened a few times, too, and been told (when pregnant) that the kid hopes my baby dies. All upsetting, of course. But I have never had a hand laid on me, and objects thrown my way were generally light (an exercise book, a tie). And while I'm competent, I'm certainly not Mrs Popular.

Any child assaulting a member of staff, even accidentally (a colleague once broke up a fight and was punched by one of the kids by accident), is always followed up with a severe sanction, usually exclusion for at least a day. Even in the shit schools where other behaviour incidents are tolerated way beyond what they should be.

But that's because it's very uncommon, and I wonder whether the child often doesn't have the time to build that relationship with an adult if they see them, maybe 4 times a week for an hour rather than all day, every day.

We know that most kids are worse at home than at school, because it's their safe space and thei intrinsically know they'll still be loved and accepted even if they have a meltdown.

It doesn't make it acceptable. Not in the slightest. But the issue does seem to be far worse in primary schools than in secondaries.

I'm in EYFS and being hit or kicked is something that happens on at least an hourly basis. Being spat at or bitten is probably more of a weekly thing. Having chairs thrown and tables tipped over is something that happens a couple of times a week.

The needs of these children just can't be met in a mainstream school with underfunding and minimal staffing. And even when it's been agreed that a child needs specialist provision, there is currently a waiting period of around 3 years in my area for a place to become available at a suitable school.

People would be seriously shocked if they could see what was happening for themselves.

It wasn't that long ago it was the other way around. Most pupils were hit by a teacher and when you told your parents they'd smack you too for misbehaving at school.

I work in primary schools as a consultant. The level of violence and abuse in some schools is shocking. It's not just TA's - it can happen to anyone. When a child is disruptive the senior staff often have to get involved. I know of headteachers who have been bitten, scratched, bitten and hit with objects, a caretaker who had a child spit in her face.
Sadly a lot of this is related to the attitude of parents. You can't sweep it all aside by suggesting that these children must have special needs. The things they say, the language they use, it comes from home. So many parents unsupportive of the schools, it's no wonder so many are leaving the profession. I've seen headteachers break under the strain of dealing with these behaviours and the families.

Recently I have been thinking how I would hate my child to be in a class like mine. My TA and I have been hit several times but I actually feel really sorry for the other children in the class; it is unpleasant for them to witness violent behaviour and they are not getting the support they need with their education because I am spending all my time deescalating situations/managing the behaviour of a minority.

To anyone working in one of these environments – how does the school leadership assist you? What is their policy on behaviour?

What should the parents be doing at home to support you, bar not fighting the school and moaning to them at every opportunity? Is this a product of poor parenting or something else?

Recently I have been thinking how I would hate my child to be in a class like mine.

I think many staff would admit the same to be honest. Taking into account all of the classes in all of the schools I've taught this year this is not a isolated thought. There's been many times I've found myself looking at the majority feeling that same guilt knowing they deserve better but it's impossible to give it them.

I’d agree with that @Elendel

I would also imagine that small children lashing out isn’t seen as a serious problem, so isn’t treated as such.

Honestly in most schools SLT either support in removing the child and then the child often gets a lovely treat and some restorative conversation before returning to class or they tell you to log it on CPoMs and discuss with the parent again.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-68674568

Sorry!

Ahh I see. The behaviour of children who think it’s acceptable to hit school staff is the fault of school staff.

When I started teaching this simply didn’t happen in the numbers it does today. When it did happen it was a child with extreme additional needs.

Countless times a parent has been informed that their child has hit staff who have blamed the staff member.

I’m sorry this is annoying you. Sorry you don’t want to hear it. But school staff are leaving in droves, don’t act surprised when your child has no teacher.

Just to add it really is all levels of staff. As former SLT I spent all day being called to deal with incidents. I was expected to pull fights apart when no one else could, extract children from them who were getting harmed as the smaller child. If people had left a room due to violence, I had to go in and resolve it. I was always on gate duty/ in the playground so often first in the scene at flashpoints or just in the way. A child doesn’t have the hierarchical concept of adults, particularly a child with special needs. I could end up fire fighting and plugging holes. I’d also be the one keeping a child with me in an office etc until they were collected. Or the one in safeguarding situations the adults would be threatening to attack when children were safeguarded. Or the one local dealers followed to the station or threatened as the face of the school who reported them/ chased them off site.
I also was the face of staff frustration and got the verbal attacks. You’re kind of mean to solve the unsolvable problems or society or magic up sen placements for kids you have been directed to take.
Every level of staff, middays and catering, TAs, teachers and SLT is getting it.
I presume it’s 1 in 5 for hit, but far far higher for all kinds of contact. I wasn’t hit so many times, but shoved, had projectiles thrown at me etc more. The worst I had was actually being threatened with fire in a confined space.

At my school to support u would mean admitting there is an issue. It is usually verbal abuse at my school. I am sure things must happen that are swept under the carpet . There is supposed to be people on a rota walking around and an on call system, but it is ineffective The retention crisis is not helping either as generally when pupils know they have supply or another member of school staff instead of their usual teacher, the behaviour is a lot worse. We are starting the new term with one teacher down. Can't recruit. Going in in holidays to try to get some resources together for cover. It too much to face first day back

The behaviours in most if not all schools day in day out would be a real shock to most people.

I would be interested to know how many of these children have SEN. With the increase in SEN in mainstream I’m not at all surprised by this stat. I imagine it’s higher for primary teachers.

I'm surprised it's not higher. Working in a
secure unit, and then talking to a relative who's a primary school teacher, I think she got whacked, kicked, punched way more.

But why does SEN automatically equal violence now? When I was at school we had children with special needs, none of them were violent.

My Head only removed the boy from my class when DH threatened to go to the police and/or media as he was worried for my safety and that of unborn DS. This boy had been in front of governors 3 times and wasn’t ever excluded, there was always “one more chance”.

The research probably didn't ask TAs.

I think this is a big part of the problem.

Combined with the absolute decimation of school staffing budgets and support services, the minimising (by parents and senior school staff) of a 4 or 6 year old lashing out because it doesn’t tend to do damage ends up just pushing the problem down the road where a much bigger 10 or 12 year old becomes a serious problem.

One of my last days working in schools I was slapped by a 6 year old and the HT of the school told the child he had to “stop being a silly billy”. That was it. I don’t even think the child’s parents were informed.

There’s also a lack of information flow to parents sometimes as well. I knew my DD wouldn’t cope in mainstream. Nursery knew. I fought. But mainstream was where it was insisted she went. There were so many incidents school stopped telling me, even though I said I needed to know every single one as I was still fighting to have her moved. Schools are often resigned to just managing problems rather than fighting for change, which is understandable for them but disastrous for individual children.

in the end I asked other parents on the class WhatsApp to complain, vociferously, about my own child when she disrupted the class or if she had a meltdown at their child because that was the only way the school re-engaged with my fight to have her moved.

@EyeOfTheCat as a SEN parent, I think it's parenting. People assume that when their child has a diagnosis, you don't have to do any parenting anymore. I see it all the time. These children don't need specialist provisions, they know what they're doing, they need consequences and parenting.

Why don’t they know?

I was talking to my DH about private education - if it were abolished there would be much greater impetus on improving state school.

Is it not the same with behaviour? I find the lack of respect for teachers utterly appalling. I can’t believe the way teachers are viewed by some parents/kids. My son’s teacher describes us, as parents as “valuing education” (she made a comment at parents evening) I know what she means - some don’t and that makes her life difficult. I would want a true picture of the classroom to help change.